Cooking stoves, or “ranges” as they are sometimes called, generally comprise a plurality of heating elements, either gas or electric burners, positioned at openings in a generally flat, top surface of the stove. The burners produce heat for heating the contents of a cooking vessel (cookware). Commonly, a grate is positioned over each burner for supporting the cookware over the burner when cooking. The grate usually rests in a depression or opening in the cook top. Many examples of cookware commonly used on a stove consist of a container portion and a handle extending outward from the container. A more recent innovation involves vitroceramic or smooth-top stoves which have burners mounted beneath a substantially flat cooking surface which extends across most, or all, of the cook top.
While cooking stoves are very useful appliances, they also represent a significant danger and are the source of many accidents, including burns and in worst cases, fires. Many of these accidents are caused by the tipping over of cookware on a stove-top causing spilling or splattering of hot contents. If bumped hard enough, the cookware can be knocked completely off the stove top onto the floor. The risk of tip or bumping cookware is exacerbated by the handles which extend out from most cookware used on stoves.
Cookware holding devices for securing cookware on a stove top have been previously described. For example, a stove top pan holding apparatus is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,517,037, issued Feb. 11, 2003, to Munoz. The pan holder apparatus comprises a fastening means for securing the holder to the stove and a pan holder having a plurality of fastening assemblies for releasably holding the handle of a pan. Several other pan holding devices are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,574,445, issued Nov. 19, 1996, to Kozdas; U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,181, issued Jun. 6, 1981, to Saga; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,155,343, issued May 22, 1979, to Hartman. Alternative to devices which hold the cookware, guards or shields for preventing children from reaching cookware on a stove top and for blocking splashing, spilling or splattering from the cookware have been described. More specifically, the following patents describe various devices for blocking access to the stove top and for preventing burns from splattering oil, grease, water, food particles, and so on: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,155,343; 4,314,543; 4,517,955; 4,836,181; and 4,934,333.
These previously known safety devices for preventing stove top accidents are complicated, awkward and inconvenient to use, and interfere with the manipulation of the cookware while cooking.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved safety device for stove tops which overcomes the deficiencies of previous devices.